First George Osborne got it in the neck from his constituents because HS2 was set to pass through Tatton, as we revealed on Saturday.

Now the chancellor is getting criticised for the opposite reason – that the controversial route will not pass through the most verdant areas of the north-west constituency.

The Daily Mail reports today that Tory-run Cheshire East council issued a press release yesterday suggesting the chancellor had kept the line from Tatton’s “Golden Triangle” of Prestbury, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge.

“Your MPs George Osborne, Edward Timpson and I (council leader Michael Jones) have fought hard to keep the line away from Knutsford and Tatton, which we have been successful in achieving”, said the release.

Critics, in the words, of the Mail, “accused ministers of double standards Read more

Yes, you read that headline right.

For all the understandable interest in Tory opposition – including Tatton councillors in Saturday’s FT – the overwhelming impression from the green benches yesterday was one of support for the controversial high-speed rail line. Here is the official account in Hansard.

It’s less interesting for journalists like myself, who thrive on controversy. The idea of a wave of Tory MPs kicking the project – when it also faces mass legal actions – is an enticing one.

But an honest appraisal of Monday’s debate would support the suggestion by Patrick McLoughlin, transport secretary, of a cross-party consensus.

So on the “no” ranks were Cheryl Gillan, Andrew Bridgen (whose house is 100 ft from the route), Michael Fabricant (“it blights the environment, homes and lives”) and Andrea Leadsom.

None of these were a surprise. (Interestingly, none of the anti’s were returning Read more

The blacklisting story, which emerged into the public eye in a slow trickle, is starting to turn into a torrent, with coverage in the last 24 hours on the Today programme, Channel 4 and The Times.

And this afternoon there was a decent turnout in the Commons as MPs debated the issue – and whether there is cause for a public investigation.

We wrote back in October that the UK building industry could face compensation claims running to hundreds of millions after a legal battle was launched by workers who say they were in effect barred from construction sites by a blacklist. Read more

New freedoms for developers to turn office blocks into flats will expire in two years under a compromise after a long-running battle by Vince Cable against the proposals.

I revealed yesterday that the government was set to make it easier for companies to convert offices into residential without seeking planning permission.

But it turns out that the business secretary has also carved out other exemptions to the rules – which are likely to be announced later this week- so that they will not apply to shops, hotels or industrial parks.

Meanwhile any council will be free to appeal against conversions where they are able to make an “exceptional case” that the change would be bad for employment in their area.

Mr Cable had fought the proposals on the basis that they could damage employment while Read more